Darkness
by Raven Carmichael
Summary: Sissi has come down with a mysterious illness. Can she be saved in time or will the illness take her away from Franz?
1. Chapter 1

Sissi laid her head in Franz's lap as they rode in the carriage that is taking them back to Vienna. Darkness surrounds her like a thick blanket due to her mystery illness that rendered her blind and feverish. "Are we almost at the palace yet Franz?" Sissi asked her prince weakly. "We've almost arrived at the gates to Vienna my Sissi." Franz replied quietly as he opened the carriage curtain to see the morning sun slowly rise from the eastern horizon. He stroked Sissis' hair softly as the carriage slowly drove into the heart of Vienna towards Schonbrunn palace.

The majestic palace came into view as the carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the palace steps. Franz got out first, and then carefully helped Sissi out before carrying her bridal style into the palace. He carried her to her suite and softly laid her down on the bed and summoned Lady Matilda to help Sissi change into her sleeping gown while he goes to find the best doctor in all of Vienna to cure his Sissi. The princess tossed and turned in her bed as she fell into an uneasy sleep. Her dreams turned into nightmares as the illness consumes her like a cocoon. Fever burns through her entire body and beads of sweat began to form upon her brow. Then she lay there on the bed, perfectly still as she succumbed to the darkness of sleep.

Franz later returned with two doctors. One was an acupuncturist and one was the doctor that cured Sissi's mother in Paris. He managed to track him down in the nick of time and after explaining everything, the doctor agreed to help Franz cure Sissi of her illness. The Crown Prince then turned to Lady Matilda and asked "How is she doing? Has her fever gone down yet?" "No, Your Highness. The Princess's fever is still as high as ever and it hasn't gone down when you left to fetch the doctor." Lady Matilda said sadly. Franz then looked at his Princess lying on the bed and his heart slowly broke into a million tiny pieces as he gazed at Sissi's unconscious body on the bed. The two doctors were arguing amongst themselves whose method is the most superior and therefore the best treatment for the ailing Princess. The acupuncturist argued that his method is the best while the Parisian doctor said that his method is what cured the Princess's mother when she had fallen ill in Paris looking for Duke Max. Lady Matilda, having heard enough from the two quarrelling physicians, shooed both of them out the door, saying that the Princess needs to rest and is not to be disturbed.

The two doctors, while reluctant to leave without first finding the proper cure for the Princess, allowed themselves to be shoved out of the Princess' quarters by Lady Matilda. Prince Franz then walked over and sat in a chair by Sissi's bed and took her hand in his, a mournful expression across his handsome features. "Sissi please, I beg of you, come back to me." Franz pleaded desperately, hoping against hope that somehow Sissi will hear him and regain consciousness but the Princess remained still on the bed, while the demons of illness continue to plague her unconscious mind. Franz then placed Sissi's hand back on the bed and stood up to walk toward the door. He took one last look at his beautiful Sissi and with tears threatening to fall; he walked out of her suite and quietly closed the door behind him.

He slowly walked towards his quarters, each step felt like he was walking in cement. His mind was thinking of the worst. What if Sissi doesn't recover from this illness? What if she dies and leaves him all alone in this cruel world of warfare and that he would have no choice but to take Helena as his wife? He could barely tolerate spending 5 minutes with the shrill, whiny woman let alone the rest of his life. He can't imagine a life without Sissi in it. She is a bright ray of sunshine in his dark world of waging battles and signing imperial documents day after day and not having a minute to himself where he could just be Franz and not Franz the Crown Prince and future Emperor of Austria. Being with Sissi made him feel more free and content; and that he could just be himself without any titles or royal status hanging over his head. 'There _must_ be a way to save her and I won't rest until I find it.' Franz thought to himself as he entered his room. 'I _will_ save you Sissi. No matter what it takes, I _will_ save you.' Franz silently vowed, with determination spreading through him, making him hope that his Sissi will be cured and that she can be by his side as his wife and as the future Empress of Austria.


	2. Chapter 2

Greetings fellow Readers! Apologies for this long overdue update. It seems that school has once again taken control of my life and that I also suffered from Writers' Block. Now, without further ado, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own "Sissi".

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Night came and went. As the sun's rays shone through the curtains in Franz's room, the prince was already out of bed and is dressed in his royal uniform. He barely slept a wink last night as his mind was filled with thoughts about Sissi and her mysterious illness. He wanted to look on the bright side of things and hope that a cure can be found and Sissi can be saved from the demons that are haunting her feverish dreams. Yet, he couldn't help but to once again think of the worst. Franz shook his head to erase all the negative thoughts and decided to focus on the positive. "_It's what Sissi would do in a situation like this."_ Franz thought to himself as he opened his door and walked towards Sissi's room.

A knock was heard from outside Sissi's room. Lady Matilda, who stayed by Sissi's side all through the night, went to open the door to reveal Franz with a worried expression across his handsome features. "How is she doing, Lady Matilda? Is she getting any better? Has a cure been found yet?" Franz asked; worry and panic laced his voice as he bombarded the Lady in Waiting with questions that demand to be answered. "The Princess's condition is still the same I'm afraid." said Lady Matilda. "Her fever has not gone down and the two physicians from yesterday are no closer to finding a cure for the Princess's illness." Lady Matilda finished with her head bowed and a tear or two slid down her cheek like raindrops on a window pane. Franz then walked past Lady Matilda towards Sissi's bed. He took a chair from a nearby writing desk and sat down beside the bed. He caressed Sissi's hand with his thumb and stroked her golden, sweat-laden locks with his free hand. "Sissi, please wake up my Love. Please." Franz begged desperately but Sissi remained perfectly still on her bed. Seeing no response from his princess, he reluctantly got up from the chair, kissed Sissi on her forehead and let himself out of the Princess's room. "_Looks like i__t's up to me now. I _WILL _find the cure to your illness Sissi. I promise you!_" Franz thought as new determination flowed through his veins as he closed the door to Sissi's room behind him. He then detoured from the route that would normally take him to his office towards the palace library, hoping against hope that there would be something among the endless shelves of books and encyclopedias that would lead him to finding a cure for his Sissi's illness.

After what seemed like a millennium of searching through pages and volumes of book after book, Franz sighed in exasperation. Nothing within the countless pages of all the medical books in the entire library contains information about Sissi's illness much less about how to cure it. Franz put his head in his hands and sighed once more. He thought about the symptoms that Sissi had before succumbing to blindness and fever. Nothing seemed to make any sense. On the surface, it looked like a bad cold but not bad enough to be pneumonia but it seemed to be something else entirely different from the common cold. "_I must not give up. I have to keep trying._" Franz thought as he searched the endless shelves once again.


End file.
